Extra Effort for Extra Enjoyment

Salem Pond

Thanks to Kayli and Derek we have been doing pretty well at getting in regular walks, even in the cold.  Kayli is a good dog owner who wants Teddy to get some exercise, and Derek is good at wanting to get in some walking for the exercise, and probably the change in scenery from the basement where he's been working.

We often do what we call the "Haskell Loop" because it goes down the road where a few of our Haskell friends live (On a road that actually has "Haskellville" on the sign).  We like this loop because it goes into county roads that have little farms, horses and cows.  We enjoy petting the horses which Teddy thinks they are big dogs he must attack (though he only ever gets to growl at them from afar).  The cows too.  

Over the holidays Derek would say, "Let's go for walkies" and I would moan because I didn't want to.  I had a headache and it was cold.  But we would bundle up and go, and I always was glad we did.  Yesterday we hadn't had a chance to walk in the sun and so Derek suggested we get in the car and go to Salem Pond to walk.  I enjoy the Haskell loop, but I was glad that we took a little extra effort to walk somewhere else.  Breaking out of routine made the walk seem more like a break, and the Christmas lights on the pond are beautiful.  I got to thinking that sometimes, when the things we like to do start seeming like chores, we could take a little extra effort to do them in a different way, and we might get a little extra enjoyment from the change, and more enjoyment out of the routine when we go back to it.

*Written Dec. 1st

Christensen Christmas Letter 2020

December 2020

Dear Friends and Family,

What a year! So many things have changed, and yet I find that I still have a lot to be grateful for, and I hope that you do too. My goal word of the year was “JOY” and I find joy best when I focus on what is good, and on the wonderful people I know! There’s a lot to cover--our last letter was 2 years ago!

Trisa is back to the last name of Christensen, and as always, is someone we all love to talk to and hang out with-- with her dog Chewy of course. She has awesome friends in Cedar City who have given her safe places to stay, babies to hold, children to play with, and adults to talk to. She is a good friend in return. Trisa is still teaching Kindergarten. She taught online at the end of the last school year. This year she is back in the classroom teaching kids who wear masks, argue over funny things, and have Trisa’s heart even when they’re naughty.

Tia and Mike live in Provo. Tia keeps lots of people looking beautiful while Mike keeps Provo safe from the “bad guys”. Mike graduated from BYU last December and then promptly went off to be trained as a policeman. He works for the Provo police department and doesn’t always appreciate our prayers that his work will be safely boring :-). Mike and Tia travel as often as they can. This year they did a quick one to South Dakota when Tia was going stir crazy and saw Mount Rushmore. They went to Michigan twice (where Mike’s parents are). The second trip to Michigan was after going to Chicago to attend his brother Nick’s wedding to Lindsay. YAY! We love it when Tia and Mike come over. They make me smile. Teddy can’t decide whether to love Mike or bark at him. Mike said, “Teddy and I have a complicated relationship.”

Kayli is super awesome and I am really glad that she hangs out here with us when she isn’t working or hanging out with cousin Avery or other friends. She still works for Nutra Connection, and she is going to school on the computer via the Pathways program. She is Teddy’s dog momma and takes really good care of her cute doggie. She also became an honorary aunt this year when her friends Brittany and Kota had their much anticipated little girl. They gave their baby two middle names -- one of which is Marie after our Kayli Marie. Kayli loves that baby and her parents! So do we. We were blessed to be able to attend the Payson temple with Kayli in October.

Connor got home from his mission to Japan! Okay. So that was April of 2019. Eventually his fondest dreams came true and he was able to date Amanda Wilcox, get engaged, and then married! As of August 28, 2020 she is now Amanda Christensen! They were married in the Payson temple and they live in Cedar City. They helpfully visit Chewy sometimes when Trisa is teaching school. Connor works at Walmart and Amanda is a teacher’s aide. They both “attend” SUU (online). Due to their busy schedules we don’t see them as much as we’d like, but we love them!

Jake graduated from high school in 2020 and was pleased as punch not to have to attend graduation. He did miss going to school though. He had good friends there and misses seeing them still. This summer he went to volunteer at Agape, a food pantry / thrift store up the street from us and was given a job. It’s not a lot of hours, but they are thankful for him and can never say enough good things about him. Jake is great. He uses his muscles and good skills to help out, at AGAPE and at home, a LOT. One of his favorite things in the world is having his siblings home.

Dan has had a stressful year, but I’ve gotten to spend more time with him while trying to give him breaks from doing school by himself, and he’s gotten to spend a lot of time with his “twin” cousin Caleb who is doing online school in Idaho. I can hear them in the other room chatting away while playing some online game together. The bonus of him not really going anywhere is that he has had a healthier year than any I can remember.

Derek and I decided that the middle of a pandemic was a good time to sell the house we’d lived in for over 21 years and build a home on the land we’ve owned up in Elk Ridge for almost 16 years. Naturally, nothing went quite as planned. The house sold in 6 hours and we didn’t even have house plans yet! Thankfully our next door neighbor had a “spare” house he rented to us that is only about 3 blocks from our old house and in the same ward (church) boundaries. Our house is designed, water shares we didn’t know we needed are bought, and our builder (Zions Builders, owned by my friend Shannon’s husband Dave) has got the footings in and the foundation is coming soon!

The country shut down while Derek was in Orlando on a work trip. He came home and has worked from home ever since. In our old house there was an office. Here there is an unfinished basement (brrrr). I like having him home. His commute was kind of long and here he can occasionally go for a walk with us, or come up for lunch. He probably makes dinner more often than I do, and it’s kind of fun that he gives the kids and Teddy “the rock” and me a hug and a kiss (ewww says Dan) before heading to work.

I belatedly discovered Pinterest last year and have really enjoyed doing projects that I found on there. I love finding ways to make things better and organizing things in better ways! I have discovered a love for thrift shopping and I even bought a table at D.I. and turned it into a game table with a checker board on it! Fun! I am still over the children in our church congregation even though we are not meeting together as a group. I haven’t done a lot in this capacity, but I have done a puppet show or two and I miss seeing the kids! My health is mostly good. The pile of meds I take in the morning and evening fix the arrhythmia, make it less likely cancer will return, and keep me from spending lots of time crying in my room with depression. Yay for that!

This is last December (thus no Amanda) and also the reason we weren't wearing masks!

 

This is cute Amanda!

We love our good family, friends, and neighbors and do our best to love everyone we come across in our day to day existence. We love Christmas and the chance to focus on Christ and all that we have because of Him! May He bless us all as we move into a new year to be able to focus on the good, and find lots of joy in doing so.

Love from,
Sherie and Derek Christensen (and family)

A Compassionate Brother

 We go for a lot of walks.  Sometimes we don't make it out.  Sometimes we go twice.  Sometimes all of us go.  Sometimes just some.  One day when we went, Dan was required to come, but the walk was much longer than he hoped for and he started having some pain -- I can't remember where -- maybe a foot.  We tried to bed sympathetic, and hoped he'd not be too miserable before he got home, but otherwise didn't do anything -- not even stop for a break.  But pretty soon I looked over and Jake was giving Dan a ride on his back.  I didn't think to take a picture soon enough.  Jake carried Dan uphill much longer than I thought he would.

Here he was just putting him down.  Dan was thankful for Jake mentioning what a good brother he is, and as the Mom of both boys, I am thankful that they get along (not that they don't argue, and Jake does like to tease Dan into getting frustrated like a "normal" brother), but they spend time together and are good friends even though they are 4 and 1/2 years different in age.

I love Jake.  He just quietly goes about doing good things.  

My New Thanksgiving Tradition

 The Thanksgiving Chain

I had this idea last year, but I did it differently.  Last year I wrote down thankful activities and put them in a gift bag and pulled one out every day to do.  This time I wrote things on chain links -- a countdown to Thanksgiving that is also gratitude practice.  The activities are meant to be a boost not a burden, so they aren't big.  One was "Light a candle and contemplate your blessings".  I only did so, so at that one.  Todays was "write a Thanksgiving Poem".  The good thing is that you can make up anything you think you'd like to do, and if you forget -- you can do two one day -- or just move on without giving yourself a bad time!  We are being thankful, NOT judgmental!

I'm thankful for the birds that sing

I'm thankful for the change each season brings.

I'm thankful for clouds all fluffy and white

And white snow that gleams in the cold moon light

I'm thankful for storm clouds dark and fierce

And the lightning that lightens the night with each pierce.

I'm thankful for fall leaves blowing color around

Or crunching with each step that falls on the ground.

I'm thankful for sunlight that's bleaching and hot.

Heating my skin and the plants in their pots.

I'm thankful for shade, refreshing and cool.

And cool water that surrounds me when I jump in a pool.

I love the fresh green poking up from the ground

When there is no longer snow all around.

The blossoms in trees are incredibly grand

As are the flowers I can hold in my hand.

The smell of a fire, or a branch of fresh pine

Can bring on the memories that are good and divine.

The glory of nature, God's creatures around

Intricate wonders, they seem to abound.

The laughter of children, the smile of a friend,

The kind words of others, thanks to give without end.

The Imperfectly Perfect Family Home Evening

Derek planned home evening for us a couple of weeks ago. We started by reading some of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk Be Ye Therefore Perfect -- Eventually. Here is one of my favorite quotes from that talk:

"...as children of God, we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become. No! With a willingness to repent and a desire for increased righteousness always in our hearts, I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem. That is not what the Lord wants for Primary children or anyone else who honestly sings, “I’m trying to be like Jesus.”

We then were all given a picture for us to do our best painting -- without being harsh judges of ourselves.  I think they turned out pretty awesome!

If we think we have to be perfect at something before we try, we will miss out on a lot of good experiences!

Our Trip to St. George

Towards the end of October we went to St. George and stayed in the "St. George House" that belongs to Derek's parents.  It was a good break and we got to see a lot of family members.  The weather was lovely, and sometimes it is just good to get away.  I didn't take a ton of pictures, but I did take some!

I love this picture except Laura couldn't be in it because she was taking this picture.

We went to play pickle ball on Saturday morning but there was a tournament and so we walked over to the sand volleyball court and a lot of us played that.  I walked Brandon and Laura's dog.  Or maybe she walked me.

This is out of order.  We met my parents and Ray and Lori at a park in the evening to have dinner.  We had just gone to see Ray and Lori's building lot.  This is my Dad with Trisa's dog Chewy.  My Dad and Mom spent the day painting a neighbor's house because she couldn't afford to do it and it needed to be done.  My parents are always super thoughtful and love to help any way they can.  There were other neighbors helping and a couple of younger people came to do the high parts of the house, including my brother Ray.  My Dad loves being on ladders, and I still remember him hanging from rafters when he was working on building our A-Frame house in KY, but eventually the years catch up to all of us -- though if nobody was looking I'm sure he would have climbed right up the ladder.

This is Jenny and Kayli at Contact Climbing Gym which is being built by Jenny and Jeff and their partners who I don't really know.  It's fun to have entrepreneurs in the family so we can get an inside look at the climbing gym / yoga studio before it opens!

Oops.  This is a blurry one of Kayli, Teddy, Trisa and Chewy

This place is really huge!  On the blue extention thing (?) was Jeff, Derek, Dan, and Jake -- way up near the ceiling!

You can see the people better in this picture.

This is Chewy, Jenny, Kayli and Teddy.   The climbing walls got started being built on my birthday.  I didn't get a picture of the actual wooden part of the wall that was going up.  They are much farther along now.  I also didn't get a picture of Jenny's Yoga studio.  She and Jeff had worked hard and put in the floor themselves.  Jenny will be running the yoga studio, and will have a Yoga Teacher Certification program too.  I'm always impressed with this sister of mine!

It was nice that Derek's parents let us stay in their house so that we could have a little break in the sunshine and see lots of family.  I also missed out on a picture of Quinn and Tonya's family who we had dinner with on Friday night.  They put tables outside with tablecloths and we had spaghetti.  It was tasty and we always enjoy our time with them!

Halloween 2020

Derek has been working from home since March, and so when he was required to dress up for a work meeting in honor of Halloween, we got to see him!

Tia gave Derek the wookie suit a few years ago and it came in handy this year!  Teddy is in the picture because he loves hanging out with Derek:-)

Dan wanted to be a muppet this year.  He wanted the mouth to move.  He was so pumped to make this costume.   Then he sat on the couch and played a game while I tried to figure out how to make a muppet with the cloth we found at D.I..  Sigh.  He wore the costume for about five minute.  It took me a lot longer than that to make it, and I was kind of grumpy that day, but it turned out kind of fun.

We had a ward trunk or treat Halloween afternoon.  It was fun to see happy kids.  Then we had chili and scones and hot citrus.  Derek, thankfully, helped make the chili so that wasn't too bad, and I actually liked it!  I'm not a fan of beans, but we used black beans and pinto beans and apparently it's the kidney beans I really don't like.  All in all it was a happy Halloween where we actually used all of our Halloween candy up!

"Into The Woods To Find a Friend"

 That is a quote from the musical "Into the Woods" and it is from a song that often gets stuck in my head when we go to the woods for a walk.  We've done that a couple of times lately.  

This is Kayli, Trisa, and me on our way up Payson Canyon on Oct. 3rd.  Derek was driving and Dan was in the back.  Jake was working.

Me, Derek, and Kayli (behind Derek's shoulder).

Dan.  I'm not sure what he's doing, but our shadows are pretty awesome!

Derek and I went hiking up in Elk Ridge the other day and this was the view from up where we went.

We went again with the kids a few days later only we went farther and Dan wanted me to take this picture.  Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do justice to how pretty it was!

Park City With Derek

Derek and I had on the calendar for quite a while a trip to Park City.  When Dan asked why we were going I told him it was a late birthday trip, but it really was just some time with Derek that I really, really wanted.  Time away.  Our lives are good.  We have good kids, and a nice place to stay, but I really do love having Derek to myself sometimes!  The weather was beautiful (It was the weekend of Oct. 10).

       Derek and me in front of a random waterfall somewhere in Park City.

This was taken in a Halloween Store for the benefit (?) of our kids who hate clowns.

We watched some people practicing ski jumps into a pool.  It was pretty cool!  You can see someone flying upside down in this picture.

We found this little cemetery by accident and enjoyed walking around.  Most of the graves were quite old, but there were a few newer ones.

This was a picture of a wire / rock wall in case we ever want to try to build one.  They did a good job on this one!

We stopped at this little lake in Midway on the way home, and then Derek stopped at BYU duck pond because I wasn't quite done with vacation yet and wanted to chat.  We don't have a picture of that.

Every now and then, it really is nice to get away from the every day routine.  I like routines, but I like to change things up sometimes!

Trisa's Birthday

 Back in October our oldest daughter Trisa had a birthday!  She came home so we got to properly celebrate with her.  I am so grateful for this daughter of mine.  She is very incredible.  Being the oldest child isn't always a piece of cake, but I think she does oldest child perfectly.  That doesn't mean she's perfect, but that she deals with all of life's hardships and challenges with as much love, patience, and forgiveness as she can muster while clinging to her faith and while helping those around her on the way.

This is Trisa sitting by some of her biggest fans.  Jake, Chewy and Teddy.  Actually, Trisa has lots of fans -- though she probably thinks of us as family and friends and students :-) 

                           Trisa in her new coat, and Mike in the background.

Trisa opening some more presents by Jake.  And yes, we think it's fine to wear Christmas leggings all year long!

Have I mentioned that I love Trisa?  Trisa teaches kindergarten and loves her students even though they sometimes are kind of naughty.  She has some honorary nieces that she really enjoys, and she has some very loyal and kind friends that I love with all of my heart because they love her.  I hope this year is full of much happiness for our Trisa!

Winter

Winter is coming up, and though our weather has been beautiful lately, it is getting darker and the cold is coming.  Since I am trying to come up with a health plan for the winter, I have been looking for the benefits of winter, the challenges of winter, and solutions to the winter blues, or SAD.  I already deal with some depression, and when the sun isn't seen as much, this often becomes more of a battle.

One of the good things I learned from Business Insider is that cold temperatures can help people think more clearly, which I think means I will all of a sudden be smarter if I go outside :-) There are other things too, but that was my favorite.

What's hard about winter?  It's dark.  And often cold.  It's kind of gray, and not fun to drive around in if it's slushy or icy.  I can start to feel trapped, or like I spent the best part of my days inside working instead of enjoying the smaller amount of sunshine.

So here are some ideas I want to try for dealing with the dark. 

1.  In the dark music sessions

2.  Candlelight (It makes the dark romantic instead of bleak).

3.  Twinkle lights or party lights. (Mine are already in place!)

4.  Bright colored decor

5.  Use a Happy Light (we love ours!)

6.  Load the family in the car with a thermos of hot chocolate / hot citrus and go to someplace dark to look at the stars!

7.  Hide and go seek is fun in the dark.  Someone taught us about "Hide and go seek with socks".  You don't wear socks necessarily.  The person who is it uses them to throw at the people who are trying to sneak to home base.  If you get hit with the socks you are out!

8.  Wear warm clothes and go outside as much as possible -- especially to the woods, or a park.

9.  Do service to brighten someone elses dark day!

10.  Meditate, or offer up prayers of thanks.

11.  Communicate with other people!  

12.  Do Tai Chi or Yoga

13.  Work on an indoor hobby (painting, sewing, writing)

14.  Play games or do puzzles

15.  Make meals festive!

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."                     Albert Camus

I'm hoping we can all discover an invincible summer inside ourselves no matter how dark, cold, and hard to deal with our winter may be!

4 Seasons of Happiness Health Plan

 Hi all!  I was having a happy mental health day the other day.  I spent over an hour at Barnes and Noble doing my best to find the "perfect" planner for me for the year ahead.  This is something I love doing, and a planner is something I love having!  As I was heading to the store I was thinking about a friend who had posted a health plan that she was excited to follow.  I looked at it, but was less enthused about following it, and was pretty sure it wasn't for me -- but I like the idea of having a health plan!  I decided that I could create my own!

I was contemplating gardening, and seasons of life, and all of the things we can learn from nature, and I decided to make a health plan for each season of the year.  So, ever since then I have been studying up on winter.  What is winter good for?  What are the challenges of winter?  How can the darker days be dealt with so as to not cause more depression?  If I get nothing else out of this, I will have learned a few things and had a good time trying to create something good!

For today I will just leave you with the quote I have decided to use for my whole "4 Seasons of Happiness Health Plan"

"We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming.  We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are.  They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse.  But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives."               Gary Zukhav

This is up at our property in ER.  Apparently right now it is turkey season!

 

 

Focusing on What I CAN Do

Picture by Kayli

I was just trying to come up with questions that I should be looking for the answer to at General Conference, and during prayers, and just generally as I study.  The problem?  I am gifted at coming up with what I don't know, or what I don't do well and might need help with, and after a while I start to feel depressed.  Perfection is such a long way off, and I forget it's not required.  Thankfully, I was gifted with remembering what I learned last conference from President Nelson!  

"...the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

So, I decided to focus on what I can do -- at least for tonight -- and I am feeling a LOT more motivated to do good things now than I was when I was trying to think of all the things I needed to work on and what question I might need to ask about them!  

Here's my list:

I can use my writing to lift others

I can create letters and poems to inspire others

I can create songs that share faith and joy

I can listen

I can use my time to help others

I can speak kind words

I can create beauty

I can share what I learn

I can call people

I can plan get togethers

I can play games with my family

I can walk with others 

I can communicate through Marco Polos and texts

I can look, and find things that I can make better

I can make gifts, and buy gifts

I can create stories

I can do puppet shows

I can dance

I can laugh

I can share my gratitude

I can watch shows with my family

I can notice those around me

I can create order

I can clean

I can read

I can memorize inspirational things

I can pray for others and for myself

I can spend time with Heavenly Father

I can repent

I can forgive

I can smile

I can hope

I can love